Every Delicious Thing You Need to Know About EAT! Vancouver

Vancouver, BC |EAT! Vancouver is turning Sweet Sixteen this year with a knock-out line-up of culinary stars showcasing their talents at various dinners, events and workshops, from November 5 – 10.

As usual, the signature events will tantalize everyone from the sweet tooth to wine connoisseurs; and Expert Classes offer the opportunity to learn about everything from pizza to Turducken sandwiches from the Vancouverites who know them best. As part of the EAT! Dinner Series some of the city’s best chefs will be opening up their kitchens and working side-by-side with guest chefs from around Canada and the US to create 10 special dinners, and they are starting to sell out, so don’t wait to grab a seat!

Not only is EAT! Vancouver your chance to enjoy sensational and memorable food and beverage experiences, but your ticket to chow down at each of the Eat! events will go further by supporting Project CHEF: Cook Healthy Edible Food. This supercool local not-for-profit charity is dedicated to feeding young minds and bellies through hands-on classroom workshops by providing the most impressionable minds with life-long kitchen skills and nutritional know-how.

EVENTS

This year’s EAT! calendar includes two signature events, hosted by Coal Harbour’s Pinnacle Harbourfront Hotel. EAT! Harvest (Friday November 9th) is probably the best way to get a taste of almost everything that EAT! has to offer, without breaking the bank. Over the course of 2.5 hours, two dozen chefs including two pastry chefs will be putting together a selection of canapés served with wine pairings and finished off with desserts. For the cost of a ticket ($125, available here), guests get to enjoy a laid back evening of mingling and revelling in the spectacular hotel ballroom setting.

On Saturday, November 10th you can satisfy your sweet tooth by enjoying a selections of sweets created by 13 award-winning local pastry chefs and chocolatiers. Representing the local pastry scene are Wayne Kozinko (Hawksworth), Ricardo Rosas (Faubourg), Mark Tagulao (La Glace), Elena Krasnova (Mon Paris in Burnaby), Glenn Knowles (Gem Chocolates), Jeffry Kahle (Fairmont Pacific Rim), Betty Hung (Beaucoup Bakery), Steve Hodge (Temper Chocolate Pastry), Rebecca Chen (Ancora), Adam Chandler (Beta5). From Edmonton is Brett Roy of Sweet Lollapalooza; Patrice Demers of Patrice Patissier will be visiting from Montreal; and the Okanagan Valley’s Julian Helman of Karat Chocolate is also participating in the event. Tickets to this decadent event ($79-99) also include seasonal cocktails…because if you’re going to indulge then you might as well go all the way!

THE DINNERS

The Acorn is getting some French inspiration, when Chef Brian Luptak teams up with David Leeder, former Head Chef of Restaurant Frenchie in Paris, to create a cutting edge vegetarian menu. There are only a total of 60 seats available split between two seatings and Frenchie has a reputation for being exceptionally difficult to get into, so this is sure to be one hot ticket! SOLD OUT!

Robert Belcham and Campagnolo will be hosting Los Angeles’ Redbird Head Chef Neal Fraser for a collaborative modern Italian family-style feast, featuring the freshest seasonal ingredients and wine. Guests at this table are encouraged to arrive hungry!

Expect an intimate atmosphere and unique flavours when Chicha’s Shelome Bouvette combines her Peruvian inspiration with Scout Canning Chef Charlotte Langley’s “Maritime Chic” approach for a family style dinner. With only 32 seats available, tickets for this dinner are sure to go quickly!

East, West and Prairie culinary minds will combine at Cinara when Mitchell Bates of Toronto’s Grey Gardens and Mandel Hitzer from deer+almond in Winnipeg join Chef Lucais Syme to cook up a special family style menu for 50 guests. The results are sure to be delicious!

For a taste of French-Canadian inspiration utilizing only the best farm-to-table ingredients, you won’t want to miss Steve Brochu (of Alberta’s elevated Quebecois restaurant, Chartier) and Fable Kitchen Chef Trevor Bird’s collaboration. There is no doubt that these two award-winning chefs will produce a meal that’s worthy of their accolades!

Burdock & Co. chef Andrea Carlson will be welcoming Tyler Shedden, chef at The Chase in Toronto, into her Main Street kitchen. The two like-minded chefs will be combining their talents for showcasing simple, seasonal ingredients with their respective passions for sustainability. This meeting of the minds will definitely produce exceptionally tasty and nourishing results, best enjoyed in the restaurant’s cosy setting.

Visiting Chef Dustin Gallagher, of Peoples Eatery, is bringing some Toronto soul – think culturally inclusive and inventive – to the Mackenzie Room. Him and hosting chef Sean Reeves will be whipping up a creative East Coast meets West Coast dinner at three super-limited (16 seat) family style dinner seatings. You will definitely want to get in on this culinary action!

What happens when two recipients of the highly regarded “Air Canada’s Enroute magazine’s Top 10 Best New Restaurants in Canada” get to work together in one kitchen? To find out, snag yourself one of the 48 spots (split between two seatings) at Mak n Ming when chef Makoto Ono and guest chef Kelsey Johnson, of Edmonton’s Café Linnea combine forces to produce what is sure to be culinary magic.

Chef Ian McHale of Wildebeest and Naomi Pomeroy of Beast (Portland) seem like a perfect match. Their forces and passion for fresh and farm-to-table will combine to breed what will surely be an awesome and memorable dining experience.

THE CLASSES

For those who want to take their EAT! experience beyond eating, consider signing up for one of four Expert Classes. This series offers the rare opportunities to go behind the scenes and learn skills from some of the Vancouver’s best and most knowledgeable culinary minds. There’s a workshop for those brave dozen meat-lovers who want to know what goes into their all-natural, ethical and sustainable sausages…then make them and take them home too! Two Rivers Meats in North Vancouver are kicking off the festival with this super limited workshop on Monday, November 5th. Tickets ($85) include all of the knowledge, plus a drink and your finished product to take home.

That same night, in Gastown, Nicli Pizzeria is hosting their own hands-on event, teaching 16 participants how to make authentic Neopolitan pizza. ($85 including one beverage, available here.) Everybody loves pizza, so this is definitely one invaluable skillset that’s guaranteed to up your ‘za game and draw friends to your table long after EAT! is over.

It’s second Thanksgiving at Meat & Bread on Tuesday, November 6th. The mystery of the Turducken will be revealed when chef Nicolas Schneiter hosts 24 carnivorous and culinarily adventurous guests to debone, roll, and cook his famous chicken in a duck, in a turkey sandwich. The evening concludes with a Turducken sammy dinner, including drinks and some fixings. Considering the number of animals involved, the $105 ticket seems justifiable! Get yours here.

What better time than mid-winter for a night of comfort food and liquor? On Tuesday, November 6th Director of Bar & Beverage Trevor Kallies and Chef Sarah Stewart of the Donnelly Group will be guiding 35 participants on an in-depth, Deep South culinary course including bourbon whiskey, a multi-course dinner and a wealth of knowledge. At $75 per person (available here) this seems like a bargain for a culinary expedition second only to an actual plane ticket down South.